In March 2003, employer costs for employee compensation for civilian workers
in private industry and state and local government in the United States averaged
$23.93 per hour worked, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported yesterday. Wages and salaries, which averaged $17.17, accounted for
71.8 percent of these costs, while benefits, which averaged $6.76, accounted
for the remaining 28.2 percent.

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Benefits, as a percentage of total compensation, have risen in the past three
years from 27.4 percent of total compensation in March 2000.

Private industry health benefit costs averaged $1.41 per hour or 6.3 percent
of total compensation in March 2003. In March 2000, employer costs for health
benefit costs averaged $1.09, or 5.5 percent of total compensation.